A book review blog that features historical fiction and cozy mysteries with a little bit of everything in between....

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Review: To Sketch a Thief by Sharon Pape

Description (from cover):

'Former police sketch artist Rory McCain never needed a partner to create a likeness of a suspect. But now, working as a sleuth, she's got a partner who's been dead for more than a century...

Ghosts are supposed to be frightening, not exasperating. But federal marshal Ezekiel Drummond, aka Zeke, is one spirit who seems to specialize in fraying Rory's nerves. Although it helps to have a lawman as part of her private detective business--even one who was shot in 1878--Rory often wishes she had a silent partner, instead of a dead one.

After a stray dog named Hobo leads Rory back to his murdered owner's corpse, she finds herself involved in another homicide case--not to mention the new owner of a loveable pooch. Unfortunately the spirit who haunts her house doesn't get along with dogs. Despite this bone of contention, Rory, Zeke, and Hobo are soon on the trail of some deadly dognappers and a missing Maltese...'

My thoughts:

I will admit that I did not have high hopes for enjoying this one, because I didn't really care for the first book in this series. But this one had everything to do with dogs and I love dogs and could easily relate to the storyline. A ring of dognappers is stealing dogs from owners, pet shops and breeders, and it's up to Rory to find out who is responsible for these crimes. With the help of her ghost friend, Zeke, and the newest addition to her little family, Hobo, she is ready to tail the thief and solve a murder along the way.

I really enjoyed Hobo's character and I hope he sticks around for the rest of the series. It seems like the author intends to keep it that way, but I really do hope he has a predominant role in the series. Hobo's antics remind me a lot of my own dog and it was nice to relate to his character that way. The storyline in this one was a lot better than its predecessor and I think that I might have the courage to continue with the series from this point. I wasn't sure if I was going to stick with the series before reading this one, but I think I'll stick it out and see how it goes from here.

The mystery element in this one was a little easy to figure out and of course you guys all know my theory on that. I wasn't surprised one bit by the ending and it did lack some oomph. Not the best cozy mystery I've read, but not really anything too special. I really enjoy the ghost element of of this series and it does add some character to the series. I just wish the author could come up with some more enticing mysteries and suspects that would keep me on the edge of my seat instead of somewhat bored. Definitely an improvement over the last one, but this series still needs some work.

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About

I am a 29 year old bookworm and I'm proud of it. I have a love of historical fiction and cozy mysteries, but I will read a lot of different genres as well. I love to read and love to get recommendations on books. You will always find me with my nose in a book.